Regions In Punjab

Punjab state, sometimes pronounced as Panjab, is geographically found between the border of India and Pakistan. The origin of its name came up from Persian and means “The Land of Five Waters” which denotes the rivers namely Jhelum, the Sutlej, the Chenab, the Beas and the Ravi. These are the tributaries of Indus River among which Jhelum is the largest tributary. The state of Punjab is enriched with cultural heritage and an interesting history. The people of Punjab are commonly known as Punjabis along with their language, Punjabi that has gained popularity across the world. The major religions being practiced in the region of Punjab are Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.
The present area of Greater Punjab consists of regions which were initially vast territories of north-western parts of India as well as West Pakistan. It has been found that a larger part of Punjab about 60% falls within Pakistan whereas 40% of the area falls within India where it got divided into 3 states.

There is a population which speaks Indo-Aryan language and practice several religions like Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Christians. The place has also been inhabited by Arabs, Greeks, Turks, Persians, Mughals, Balochis, Afghans and British. In 1947, the state underwent partition and successor states of British India got 3 out of 5 rivers now coming under Pakistan while the left 2 rivers being allotted to India.

The state of Punjab also called the land of five rivers has got an integrated culture with an interesting history adding the fancy of the tourists coming here. It is also the land of great Gurus and prides itself with monuments of ancient times and historical embodiments. There is no denying the fact that the amazing beauty along with golden yellow fields in the lap of Blue Mountains offering a romantic as well as picturesque view has always drawn several people and has imbibed an essence of Punjab in their hearts. There are breathtaking areas in abundance as it has been the royalty seat. Several religious destinations such as Museums Galore and Golden Temple offer peace and tranquility in the state. For wild life lovers, there are sanctuaries which can be toured and preferred by the people to a large extent. As Punjab has a border with Pakistan, there are 2 major posts from where one can have a glance of former integral part of Punjab which got separated merely with a line.

The most truncated portion of current Punjab is divisible into 3 natural regions such as the Makha, the Malwa and the Doaba and Majha.

Malwa Region

The Malwa region belonging to Punjab along with some parts of Haryana lay between the rivers Yamuna and Sutlej. Malwa should not be confused with the region of Malwa Plateau in Madhya Pradesh. The Malwa Sikhs are famous for being warriors and amazing fighters at the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Malwa area comprises of most of the parts of Punjab region having 11 districts and the fertility of this land is quite high. Mohali and Ludhiana found to be situated in Malwa region are the richest cities as well as the one of the most expensive cities in Punjab. The business center of Punjab is Ludhiana and is popularly called as Manchester of Punjab. This city houses the Punjab Agricultural University which is one of the renowned institutions across Asia. The Malwa region is a home to large number of NRI residents usually hailing from Mogha, Ludhiana, Barnala, Sangrur and district of Bhatinda. Malwa region has Ferozepur also which is the largest district and was a metro city prior to partition of Pakistan and India. This place is famous for fine quality of paddy and wheat in the world. Most of the Sikh Jats, about 92% of the population live in Malwa region and the rest are sub divided as Chamars and Tarkans. This Malwa region controls political power in the Punjab state since decades.

People belonging to this region are called Malwais and the dialect of language spoken here is known as Malwais. At the time of Mughals, Malwa was called as Sirhind. It had been the headquarters of Mughal administration. This city had also served as headquarters of Mujaddidiya of Naqshbandiyya Order of Sufis. Like any other province, Malwa, had also been as several clashes between Sikhs, Mughals, the Afghans, the British and the Marathas.

Doaba Region

The region of Punjab called as Doaba has rivers Sutlej and the river Beas in its surroundings. "Doaba" has a literal meaning "land of two rivers". The fertility of this land is quite high and therefore, it was the Indian centre for the Green Revolution. At present, it is one of the biggest per capita producers of wheat across the world.
The people belonging to Doaba began as agriculturalists, but they have now developed themselves in the fields of education, entrepreneurship and sports. This population has since then progressed at a large pace even after suffering from demographic upheavals which got generated due to people migrating to North America at a large scale and the ill effects of female foeticide. Because Doaba comprises of majority of the population of Chamars, the region has witnessed modernization as far as caste discrimination is concerned and the 'low castes' have also advanced. Jalandhar has been one of the most popular cities of Doaba. The city comprises of highest number of hospitals across Asia. The premier college of DAV is also located at Jalandhar. There are sports materials produced here at a large scale.

Majha Region

The historical region, Majha belongs to Punjab and consists of modern districts such as Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran whereas Kasur and Lahore are found in Pakistan. Majha has a lot of historical significance and consists of ancient settled parts of the Bari Doab basically Sheikhpura and Rechna Doab and newly settled parts falling under canal colonies. Most of the towns in this region are Amritsar, Kasur, Batala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Tarn Taran Sahib and Sheikhpura. The biggest part of Majha is known as Bari Doab. It is located between 2 of the 5 prominent rivers of Punjab: Sutlej and Ravi. Majha is said to be located at the center of ancient region of Punjab. Majha means 'the central plains' or also called central country. People belonging to Majha are referred to as 'Majhis'. The Punjabi dialect spoken here is Punjabi.

Powadh Region

Powadh or Puadh is a region belonging to Punjab and some parts of Haryana are located between Ghaggar and Sutlej rivers. The part falling towards south, east of Rupnagar, south eastern parts beside the district of Ambala of Haryana is Powadhi. Powadh encompasses parts of district Rupnagar lying in the proximity of Ghaggar River towards east separating the states of Haryana and Punjab. Some parts of district of Fatehgarh Sahib along with few parts of district of Patiala like Rajpura also contribute to parts of Powadh. The language of Powadh region is quite famous in the entire state of Punjab and is spoken by the people over a large area even in the state of Haryana. In the Punjab state, Ropar, Kharar, Pail, Kurali, Nurpur Bedi, Rajpura and Morinda are some of the places where the language of Puadhi is being spoken and this area itself is believed to be included in Bangar, Pinjore and Kalka area in the Hisar district including Patiala and even Nabha in it.

The region of Powadh is actually a wide region spread over a vast area and comprises of the district Panchkula in Haryana as well as areas of Chandigarh along with a large area lying in south-eastern Malwa and also consists of Patiala, Ropar and Mohali districts. Most of the population here in the Powadh region is of Sikhs and unlike majority of the areas of Punjab, the major portion of the population is not contributed by the Jats. Even in earlier times, it consisted of its own poets like at Akbar's court for example, Mai Banno belonging to Banur and in recent times, Bhagat Asa Ram Baidwan belonging to Sohana. The Kaavishri and Dhadd Sarangi singing are believed to have come from here only and even several kinds of Akharas like the popularly known Rabbi Bhaironpuri. Powadh has merely a small part of Punjab. The Malwa, Majha and Doaba contribute to the most of the parts of Punjab having majority of Sikh Jats.

As compared to Majha, having Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts while Doaba consisting of Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts whereas Malwa having Barnala, Faridkot, Bhatinda, Firozpur, Ludhiana, Mogha, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mansa, Muktsar, Sangrur, Patiala and few parts of Ropar. Powadh consists of districts of Mohali, Rupnagar and district in the surroundings of Ghaggar River and some parts of district Fatehgarh and Chandigarh. The people living in this region are called as Powadhi whereas the Punjabi dialect spoken here is Powadhi.